“Oh, excuse me,” came a soft voice.
It wasn’t Alec. It took Hope a few seconds to realize it wasn’t her either.
Hope pulled back from the kiss quickly. One of the other Vestals stood there smiling shyly at her. Hope’s entire body grew hot with embarrassment. She’d never been caught in such a position, but she also had never started making out with a man she barely knew before while in the middle of doing her chores.
“I’ll just come back in a moment,” the Vestal said, and hurried out of the room.
Hope closed her eyes for a moment and tried to regain some sort of composure. When she opened them, she found two striking blue eyes staring back at her. So much for the idea she wasn’t drawn to Alec on a fundamental level. She tried to convince herself it was nothing but lust, but she was no longer certain.
“Have dinner with me,” Alec said. “Let me cook you dinner.”
Hope licked her lips. She could still taste him there. His rough facial hair had made her mouth swollen and sensitive. She craved more.
No excuse came to mind. All she could feel was the sincerity of his words and her own desire pushing her to say yes.
Hope nodded. A bright smile spread across Alec’s face.
“I’ll meet you at your place at seven tonight,” he said.
Before Hope could even think, Alec leaned down and placed a soft kiss against her lips. This wasn’t the fire of passion, but a quick peck. He turned to make his way out of the kitchen. Just before leaving, he turned to her once again, the roguish smile back on his face.
“Don’t forget to bring some of that bread,” he said with a wink, and stepped out the door.
Hope slumped against the counter. Her legs still shook from the incredible kiss they had shared. What in the world had she gotten herself into?
Chapter Four
Alec whistled as he made his way around the hybrid’s old village. Many of the hybrids had already made their way over to the new joint compound with the remaining men and women gathering what little possessions they owned for the final transfer. He was there just to pick up a few things of his own.
“You are entirely too happy to be around today.”
Alec turned to find Rem standing behind him. His leader looked even more rough around the edges than he had been earlier in the day.
“We can’t all take the weight of the world on our shoulders,” Alec said with a smile.
Rem snorted. “You sound like Jenna now.” He frowned.
Alec raised an eyebrow. They all knew there were issues between Rem and Jenna, but it was his first time hearing anything concrete.
“Everything okay?” he asked. He didn’t want to pry, but just because Rem was their leader didn’t mean the man didn’t deserve backup.
Rem ran a hand through his thick black hair and pinned his gaze on Alec. “The baby should be here any day, and although I know I should be happy, all I can do is worry about the sort of world I’m bringing this child into. When I helped rescue you all from the Group, I never thought we might be running toward something worse.”
It was a legitimate concern. It wasn’t exactly the best moment to be having a baby, but in the back of Alec’s mind, he knew none of that really mattered. There was always something going on in the world.
“A new life is always a good thing,” he said. “Children mean that despite all the shit in the world, life goes on. It’s our job to make sure our children have a better future than the ones we were handed. A chance to be the people we were robbed of, which means a lot more in our case than most people’s.”
Rem nodded and stared off into the distance. The sun cresting the tops of the trees would soon sink below them, making the forest darker before the actual fall of night. He turned and clapped Alec on the shoulder, releasing a large sigh. “Thank you.”
Alec grunted in response, not quite sure what else he could say.
“When the hell did you get to be so wise?” Rem asked.
Alec snorted. “Guess you all are finally starting to rub off on me.”
This time Rem laughed loudly. It was nice to see him somewhat freed from the burden that had been placed on his shoulders. They couldn’t solve all the world’s problems overnight, but they could at least change their reactions to them.
“I suspect a certain woman has something else to do with your change.” Rem winked.
Alec could hardly contain the smile that spread across his face.
“Finish up here and spend some time with your woman,” Rem said. “I have a feeling there won’t be much down time soon.”
Alec nodded and watched as Rem headed back toward his own house. Hopefully, he and Jenna could work out their issues before the pending battle. There was no telling what life would bring afterwards. Now was no time to be shy. If things were really so perilous, Alec didn’t plan to go down without a fight, both in love and in war.
* * *
Hope stood quietly outside the drawing room. Anassa was inside. Hope’s heart thumped hard in her chest, and she tried to swallow her nervousness. It was a meeting. She wanted to distract herself by remembering what had happened with Alec, but that was a whole other mess.
She shook her head. It didn’t matter how many times she met the woman, each time was like new all over again. It was almost as if power radiated off of Anassa and left an air of electricity clinging around her. The woman had controlled the stone before. There might be more power infused in her body than anyone realized.
Without warning, the door swung open, the hinges creaking. Hope jumped back, her heart beating even more ferociously than before.
“Come in,” Anassa said from just inside the door. She was still wearing her white cloak from before, her face always shrouded in mystery.
Hope stepped into the room. Her knees wobbled slightly, but her strength of will forced her to press forward.
“Thank you for coming,” Anassa whispered, her voice just as hoarse as it had been before.
“Of course.”
A bony, pale hand emerged from the white cloak and waved in the direction of the chair near a loveseat. Hope sat in the soft crimson velvet chair. It was her first time in the room, and she glanced around quickly. Old books filled the space. She could smell them in the air. Their scent mixed with a spice she’d never encountered before. The deep fragrant notes filled her lungs and reminded her of something she couldn’t quite put her finger on.
Anassa paced the room, her flowing cloak trailing behind her as she did so. “Your pairing seems to be going well.”
It was said rather than asked, and Hope wasn’t quite sure how to respond. She simply nodded. Whether or not fate or destiny had ordained Alec for her remained in doubt, but she could no longer deny the longing she felt for him or the fire ignited during their kiss.
“He is strong.” Anassa paused by the bookshelf and ran a finger along the spine of a book. “The hybrid will be good bonded with you. You have great potential together.”
Anassa turned her head slightly and just under the hood, two bright red eyes stared back at Hope. She gasped quietly just as the other woman turned back to the book. Hope had always had a feeling that the woman was something more than human, but now she was positive. Her gut told her to run, but somehow she couldn’t seem to make her legs work.
“You have a great purpose in the coming new phase of life,” Anassa said.
Hope opened her mouth to say something but closed it. Anassa’s description seemed like such a strange way to refer to the situation.
“The stone is bonded with you in a way that the others are lacking,” Anassa continued.
The stone. Hope couldn’t say much about the stone. She remembered the bright blue stone that glowed and how it made her feel but not much else.
“Do you hear it?” Anassa asked. “The stone calling to you?”
Hope frowned slightly. Maybe the woman was off her rocker. A stone couldn’t call for you. But superhuman godlike men weren’t supposed to exist either. It w
as hard to figure out what was impossible anymore.
“Listen,” Anassa said. “Open your heart and listen.”
Hope stood quietly for a moment, trying to focus on whatever the older woman seemed to think she could hear. And then she heard it. Or rather felt it. A soft, gentle hum that filled her whole body. “What…”
“It’s the stone,” Anassa said. “It can feel you.”
The more Hope thought about the stone, the stronger the feeling grew.
“The hybrids don’t trust us,” Anassa said. “You need to gain the stone through your hybrid. It is the only way to bring on the next phase.”
“But…” Hope’s voice trembled as she spoke. She wasn’t sure Alec was hers yet, but that was only one confusing part of the conversation. “What is the new phase?”
Anassa turned to her once again. “Our true place in the world. To be free to live in harmony once again. It’s what was intended from the beginning, and what we must focus on, despite the complications.”
Harmony. That sounded like the sort of world Hope wanted to live in, the sort of world the hybrids deserved after all the pain and misfortune they had suffered.
“Find the stone and bring it to me,” Anassa said. “Only then will we be able to transcend our current existence and find our destiny.”
As if they appeared out of nowhere, two brothers cloaked in brown robes stepped to Hope’s sides and ushered her to the door.
“Don’t forget, Hope,” Anassa called after her. “Bring me my stone, or we’ll never be able to achieve harmony.”
Chapter Five
Alec arranged the flowers nicely in a vase on the table. A few crocuses had been peeking out from between some bushes as he made his way back to the Azilian compound. The sweet purple and yellow flowers were too much to pass up, so he gathered as many as he could. He’d waited too long to make his move, and now that he had, he wanted it to go well.
He nodded one final time at the flowers before returning to the kitchen. The red sauce in a pan bubbled nicely. The simmering sauce filled the air with the sweet smell of tomato, garlic, and herbs. There weren’t a ton of dishes he knew how to make, but pasta had come easily to him. Maybe that meant he’d been able to do it in his previous life.
He would never know, but it didn’t matter. A new future awaited him, and the woman he wanted to share that future with was coming. Alec could hear Hope at the door before she’d even turned the knob. Her sweet scent was already pushing out the smell of tomato sauce from his nose. They could be in a spice market and he’d still be able to pick out that scent from all the others, calling to him.
Hope gasped as she stepped into her apartment. He could see the shock on her face as she entered. He’d told her it would be at her place, but she must have forgotten.
Alec didn’t want to give her any time to think about what exactly was going on. He strolled forward to where she stood and planted his mouth against hers. His mouth, his Vestal.
He savored the taste of her against his lips. Her soft supple curves molded to his own. It felt right to hold her against him, to feel her warm and safe in his arms. Despite the fact that the hybrids were moving into the Azilian compound, a few reservations remained.
Anassa wasn’t someone to be trusted, and neither were the Azilian brothers. They watched the hybrids’ every move, and it was hard to tell if it was just interest or if they had some ulterior motive. But above all else, he didn’t like the idea of Hope being there without him. He’d seen her before the stone was taken away, smelled her out of all the other women. She was his, but at the same time, she wasn’t. Something had been wrong, and even his fundamental link to his Vestal as a hybrid had sensed it.
Away from the stone, it was like she had finally came alive, and there was no way he ever wanted to lose that again. He’d been reluctant to approach her seriously at first, keeping his distance other than the occasional bit of flirting, but that was all over. He’d tasted her now, and he could never go back.
Alec deepened the kiss. His tongue worked into Hope’s mouth, and she moaned slightly under his ministrations. His chest rumbled, and he knew he was steps away from taking things further than he intended on their first real date together.
When Alec pulled back, Hope stared up at him with her light green eyes. They were slightly hooded from the intoxicating kiss.
“Hi,” Hope breathed out.
The corner of Alec’s mouth twitched into a smile. “Welcome home.” His voice was still a bit gravelly from repressed sexual frustration.
Hope held up a cloth tied together at the end, something weighing down the center. “I brought bread.”
Alec leaned down and placed a soft kiss against her lips before taking the bread. “Good timing.” He made his way back to the small kitchen and placed the bread on the cutting board.
“You made pasta?” Hope asked.
Alec glanced over his shoulder. Hope stared at the stove at the sauce and meatballs before returning to cutting the bread. It still smelled just as good as it had before. Although maybe he only liked the smell because it reminded him of their kiss.
Damn. He hadn’t meant to be so aggressive when she first arrived. He just didn’t want her questioning things before he was ready to tell her. They needed time, and it was the one thing they just didn’t have enough of. He’d been too slow. Even if Vestal and hybrid were drawn together that didn’t mean that worries and misunderstanding couldn’t interfere. He’d seen it with other hybrids.
“I watched a cooking show, and it seemed simple enough,” Alec said.
Hope stepped over to him. “You watch cooking shows? I would have never guessed that would be something you’d like to do.” She blushed. “Not that you shouldn’t, but it just surprises me.”
Alec stared at her. The look of wonder on her face sparked something in him. “There are lots of things I like to do. Some of them require help.”
He knew he was coming on strong, but it was hard to stop himself. Their inner light came out when a hybrid was excited, and Alec knew the exact moment his eyes started to glow.
Hope’s breath quickened. “So beautiful,” she whispered.
Alec turned back to the bread. “Why don’t you pour the wine? I’ll bring everything in.”
Hope stayed for a few moments more before pulling out a couple glasses and making her way to the table.
Alec was captivating. There was no other word Hope could use to describe him. Everything about him drew her in, especially those kisses. Her whole attitude toward the Vestal and hybrid bond had changed because of the kisses, but she wasn’t sure if that meant she bought into everything she’d been told about being a Vestal or if lust had overtaken her. At that moment, she wasn’t sure she cared either way.
Hope sat down at the table with her glass of wine and gently touched her lips, as she’d done often throughout the day since their earlier kiss. She could still feel Alec’s lips there and the coarse feeling of his stubble as it rubbed against her mouth.
She’d never been one for facial hair, but the small bit he had was exciting in a way she hadn’t expected. More than once she’d wondered what it would be like to have his glorious mouth moving over her bare skin. She shivered slightly at the thought.
Hope’s heart kicked up over the memory of Alec’s eyes. She’d heard about it from the others even if she’d never seen it herself. They all knew the stone was special and the hybrids were more than just men. Hell, even before she had joined the Azilians, the news made that clear with their stories of the Luna lodge hybrids and their special abilities.
Though, many of those stories talked about how horrible the hybrids were without providing real evidence to prove such a claim. She’d never been one to fall into the lies the press liked to sell, especially when those lies meant they made more money.
All that was in the past. Alec was there, now, with her, and seeing his eyes in person had been totally different than just hearing about it. They were beautiful, the brightest, cleares
t blue she’d ever seen. It was like staring at the purest water known to man.
Hope sighed. They had all that chemistry together, but he had sent her out of the kitchen when it happened. Maybe he was ashamed of their differences, and that’s why he had kept his distance before. Or maybe he was afraid she would be scared. The truth was the opposite. Seeing his eyes only made her want to know more about the mysterious man who cooked pasta.
Hope straightened as Alec came into the room, pasta loaded into one bowl with the bread in the other. For now, it didn’t matter that they were hybrid and Vestal. They could just be a man and a woman on a date.
The food smelled absolutely amazing, and for the first time that day, Hope remembered that aside from the slice of bread earlier, she hadn’t had a chance to eat.
“Can I serve you?” Alec asked.
Hope’s stomach rumbled loudly, and she glanced up as heat spread across her face.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Alec smiled and filled her plate with pasta and meatballs followed by the fresh baked bread. When he placed the plate in front of her, she nearly laughed out loud at the size.
“That is a very big plate.” Hope grinned.
Alec sat next to her, his plate piled high with even more food. “Is it?”
He looked genuinely confused. Likely with his size and the amount of work he did, he needed far more to get by, and didn’t always pay attention to how much non-hybrids ate. She could only guess what he would be like after a long night with a partner. She’d have to stock up her fridge.
Hope nearly dropped her fork. The thought had popped into hear head, and her first instinct was jealousy and then surprise. They had kissed twice, and she was already acting like a jealous girlfriend. She was half-convinced she’d lost her damned mind, but it was hard to know. The Vestal bond might be far more real than she wanted to accept.
Alec: #11 (Luna Lodge: Hunters of Atlas) Page 3